Method of treating ores.



No. 895,939, I. `PATENTBD AUG. 11, 1908. RBAGGALEY.

METHQD 0F TREATING GRES APPLICATION FILED PEB. 8, 1906.

s SHEETS-SHEET 1 wsfmEssE PATBNTED AUG. ll, 1908.

R. BAGGALEY. METHGD 0F TRBATNG DRES.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.8,1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEBT 2,

:WHEN on may No. 895,939. PATENTED AUG. ll, 1908.

v R. BAGGALBY.

METHOD OF TREATING GRES.

APPLIQA'IIONl PLED PBB.8,19OG.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

1 cross-section on the line lllll of invention is preferably although it may be melted within -driven into the bath of molten 1natteWhich usually existing in the UNTE RALPH BAGGALEY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, .l METHOD GIS' TREATZNG GRES.

Speccation of Letters latent.

Application led February 8, 1996 NO. 895,939. Patented Aug. l, serif-l1 No. suoni/2.

To afllwhom it may concern.' ten bath of matte and are recovered 'While Bc it known that l, RALPH Baseline/fr, of the liqueted, worthless, silicious shel are Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, l discharged with slag and matte into thtr i ne have invented a new and useiul hlethod ot hearth at a lower level. In the lutter 5f) Treating Ores, of which the followingis a fiilhclear, and exact lescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, in which-*- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a furnace of the type'in connection wi th which my employed Fig. 2 is a side View, partly broken away, showing the means for preheatingr the ore, and Fig. Bis a Fig. 2.

My invention has relation to method for the treatment of ores for pose of simultaneouslysnieltinr extracting Values sweating, and without the use-oi carbone-- l ceous fuel, thus rendering available for conil `the ores to a small size, say to the size a mercial use large bodies of low-grade ores l/Walnut, and then preheatin-g-theni to a tern that are now Worthless. erature less than the fusion point of the eol- In the method 'to which my invention is gris and other natural luel elements conapplicable, a bath of mo ten matte Vis irst tained therein, aiter which they are delivered so preferably derived from an outside source, the vessel itself by a simple melting, with the least possible concentration, of ores that are rich. in iron, sulfur, and other oxidizable elements or compounds.

4to the furnace. This preheating is ably eil'ected by means ol' the het is the converter, the heat of 'which largely utilized, While the ores are dli to the converter in the best con1 A converting blastl is then their efficient and economical therein.

My invention. is

produces heat, and thereafter ores are fed form of occluded parsection of the pipe l0 is preferably provided preferably einiiloye'l in into the apparatus either continuously or inconnection with a converter Whicniis `ifotaterinitt-ently, as may be preferred. If intably mounted preferably eenjr il a no creased heat is desired in the bath, suliids are J cradle, and is preferably made of ylindrical fed. It mineral values are desired, these are torni of greater length than diameter.: As usually best obtainable from ores of a siliabove stated this furnace is mounted ori-roll#- clous nature. Care should be taken to proe'rs 3, 3, and'hasan exterior metal shell Vide `and maintain a molten bath that conan interior refractory lining 5, the inetf, 4e5 tains sufficient iron, sulfur and other o\;1d1z being preferably provided with Warte able elements and compounds to constantly l ipes 6 through which sti-earns ofwel supply the heat necessary vto produce sucl he maintained for the purpose oi cess. Thereafter silicious -ores are fed into limit upon the extent to Whichjf" the furnace 4and these are fused to the point I basic linin can be destroyed by loo Where the iron inthe matte after oxidation contents o the vessel. The i .ei Will form silicate slag at minimum temperal cooling pi es (i from resins et the lowes tures (much less than thetniperatures that 5 point/ol t e .converter an'l A,muises non l' ordinarily prevail in blast furnace Worlt) and therefrom and thence di into thereafter an excess of silicious ores inayfbe l vetted mains 3, S, thus pre g the nl 1o; fed onto .the molten bath, and these float sub i bility of; the' iornietion of steam podreis. merged orpartially submergedin matte the .'lheconverter is provided kwith a throat Q entire length of the vessel, subjected to the for the escape of gases,-and this throat coniheat and the agitation produced by a coninunicateswith a telescopicpipe l0 through verting clash-so that their mineral contents, Which the gases pass to a stach. r.lhelower tioles of suliid, are sweatcd out, join themolwith doors l1 ,to afford means for removing congealed slag from the interior of the throat During the operation of the converter the lowest section 10 of the telescopic pipe is preferably dropped intovposition upon the throat t) as shown in Fig. 1, so as to exclude the air', and thus prevent any cooling inthe ence upon the hot gases of the converter. 'lhese gases are thence led to a suitable preheater in which the orc to be 'charged into the come-rter may be heated to a point lessthan the fusion point of suliid. This prheating has tht` effect of expellinumoisture from the ores; and it also heats them to an important extent, thus materially increasing the smclting capacity of the converter. By checking the preheating at a point less .than the fusion po'mt of the sultids and other fuel elements contained in the ores, these elements are fully )reserved to be utilized in the subsequent smellting of the ores. l illustrate. `such preheater in Figs. S and 4 in which 12 represents a. hollow chamber into which the gases discharge from the converter. 'lhis chamber is of lconsi lerable length and contains two sub-chambers 13, 14, one above the other in which the branches of an endless i chain extend, this endless chain 15 passing around s )rockets 16 and having stirrers 1,7 for propelling the ore. The ore is introduced into the upper chamber 14 through a feeding deviee18 and is carried through such chamber in the direction of the arrow by the endless chain feeders until it comes to a drop 19, where it drops into the lower chamber 13 and is there engaged again by the stirrers on the endless chain, and is carried in the direction of the lower arrow toa second drop 20, at which it drops into thefeed tube 21 .which leads tothe converter. The gases from the converter ass "u wardly into'the preheating chamber tuoug the pipe or passage 21, and enter the lower compartments A. 'lhey )ass longitudinally through the chamber to its 'forward end portion, whereby they pass upwardly and into the intermediate compartments B thence bac i through this coml partment and up into the top compartments C thence again i'rwardly, and thence downwardl by passage or flue D into a dust cham er 22, and thence out to the stack E. The gases in passino' through the compartments A, Band C olF the preheater thus surround the chambers 13 and 14, as shown in Fig. 3, through which the ore is iassing, and thus heat the ore to a considerable temperature, but short of that at which the sulids of the ore can be fused. When it is not desiredjtopass the gasesffrom the converter through the preheater, they can be diverted directy through the dust chamber 2 into the stack flue. This is effected by closing the t'lamper o1' yvalve 21b in the pi )c or llue. 2.1, and opening the dan )er or valve 22 in the pipe or llue. 22 which eads directl)7 from the throat of .the converter into the dust chamber 22. The flue dust from the dust catcher 2 2 may be removed from time to time through openings 23 at its base. Shelf or other forms of preheaters may be used if preferred, Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The converter is preferably about 20 feet in length-and 8 feet in diameter. At one end, as above stated, it is provided with the p1 4with adjacent opening 24 through which molten matte may be introduced. At the other end of the furnace is the outlet 9 for the gases and an overflow-spout 25 for the escape of the molten matte-and the. slag and e 21 through which ore is introduced, and

silicious shells. This spout 25'is referably water-jacketed, as the volume o material that. passes through `1t 1s very great and 1t is desirable vto waterjacket it in order to4 prevent injury by reason of the cutting action of the flgwlng material. 26 is a practically auf-tight metal drop-tube through which the molten slag'and'matte and the sihclous shells' drop together out of the overllowspout into the' l'orehearth 27. The drop-tube 26 through which the Aovertlow-spout may be watchedby the operator, vand when necessary may be quickly and thoroughly rodded.

This opening affords means for rakiner out and dropping into the forehearth any chilled accretions that may form. with a heavy metal door which may be ot' any convenient size, 'and is preferably in the form of al ne, so that it may be rolled to one side forthepurpose of opening.

By reason of the use of the olpen overflowspout 25, the level of the bati in the couverter is limited, and the forehearth ail'ords a free discharge for the slag and shells, and prevents any trapping of the blast, such as prevails in ordinary blastv furnace practice,

and it aflso preventspthe accumulation of a body of floating slag which alwaysexists in any form of apparatus in which the blast is trapped.

- l21) represents a congealed slag coveringA wluch forms over th forehearth and coustitutesa practicallyair-tight union at tt) with the metal drop-tube 2 6. When the operation of the converter is started and when sullicient matte and slag have accumulatt-al to lill the forehearth to the top level, a clay plug or dam is preferably placed iu the slagdischarge 31 of the forehearth, and alter the chilled covering .29 has been thus formed, this clay dam is removed and the overllowing slag then finds a ready outlet to the slag pot 32 or other' receptacle in which it is received.

'l`he l'orehearth is preferably veryvv large, say 2() feet in diameter if circular, or S to 1() feet wide by .Zti'fcetiu length it' rectangular in form. lt provides a long travel l'or the slag and matte in molten condition and for the v,floating liquaitedore through the l'orehearth is provided with an opening 2S' lt 1s providedv causes an 'exceptionally all-matte prills that may slag, and, owing to the intense senese nd underneath the congealed slag covering,

y'in Order' thus to sec-ure a further separation' of all mineral and matte.

` This hastheiefect of conserving the heat tol a niucligre'ater degree than exists in present pract'ibe';"it clean separatioii of be mingled with' the eat andthe consequent fluidity of the slag, abetterpercentage-of separation occurs. By this nie'ans the floating luinps of silicious ore are also afforded additional opportunity for'sweat in or liquation under favorable conditions. en ultimately discharged from the forehearth, both the molten slag and theiloating silica lumps are exceptionally clean.4

A bridge 33 is preferably placed over the vforehearth in order to afford a platform on which tlieworkiiien may Work. Owing to the differences which characterize my process from tliesei'lieigetofore racticed, this bridge is alinost a'fnecessity, because the corrosive natureof the matte in the forehearth is such that it eats awa the slag covering and renders it too frail or tlie workmen With safety to stand upon it, as is the case in ordinary practice.

vThe converter is provided with twyers 34 fed from a vsuitable Wind-box 35. The converter is also provided with suitable means, shown at 36 and 37 in Fig. l, for rotating it on the rollers 3, 3. The purpose of rotating it is that incase of accident Wheii'it is desired to empty the contents of the converter, this may be don'e by lifting the telescopic section 21 at the base of the pipe 21 and the telescopic section 10 at the base of the outlet for the gases, and then inverting the converter and discharging its molten contents, thus preventing the saine .from freezing in thevessel. The molten contents of the fore-A 'Yliearth should be tapped out at the saine y s unied.

time in such event, since otherwise its contents vvould also solidify and would have to be dug out before operations could be re- In the use of the apparatus, a bath of molten inatte -is provided in the vessel as above stated, this matte being preferably of low grade and referably not exceeding 20 per cent. Iin va ues. Such bath is rich in iron, sulfur and other oxidizable elements and compounds, and is necessarilyuiery hot, liquid and corrosive. When this hath has been formed, air is blown into it through the twyers 34, and siliciousore is introduced through the opening 2l. This ore Will float upon the matte, part of it will be taken up by iluxing with the iron, and the remainder Wi 'l be cracked by the heat, andQW'ill yield up its metal values to the bath. Thisv action is'due to the fac't that the temperataire of `the molten baththe tx-iinp'e'raturo which mustA always exist in order tokeepvitnioltenis greatly in excess ofthe fusing r.pi'iintnof the y slag c Vthe natura the mineral .constituents of the Oife' are freed by fusion froinithe'dre W fen tpe'silicious shell ofthe latter is""'craked' taellat," and heilig thus :freed'tlieyv asii'int and a part of the inolten`-` `b`a h3' fthevvrthless silicious shells'reinain ndpiss olf with the sla s"in`to the forehaitlii 'i he' greaterftlielngth of the apparatus, the longer will bejthetftravel ofthfe floating ore immersed iniihi'bath, from the 'oint' of entranceat endend 'to 'the point of discharge through the overflow-spout at the other end.

Ores asfound physically. 'Sonie will yield up their values liquation more quickly thanf` others.

T e length ofthe vessel must be governed by the characteristics ofthe ores to betreated. The latter should remain in thebathfdr a longl enough period to have their occlu'ded minerals separated from the an ue, -so that they willjoin the molten bat o matte, be-

in nature are quite different" arsenids, antiinonids,

fore the.Worthless'silicious dshells are discharged into the forehearth, otherwise a useless Waste of values will occur. The' differ. ence in characteristics of the ores therefore mustregulate their sojournin'ithe' molten bath, and this sojournpaia'alone be governedl byate length ofhe furnace and the rate of fee It will be found practice to increase the length of the furnace, rather than to reduce its by checking the feed. T

e rate of feed may be regulated as desired.

Within certain Alimits a long travel for' the floating ore is desirable, but no good can result from making this travel greater than is found in ractice to accomplish a clean se eration. he size of the vessel will govern t e volume of initial bath; which must cover the converting tw ers' to start the process. voliiine of blast niust also be provided.

In the use-of the apparatus, the gases in vthe converter are at a considerable pressure,

which is desirable because it helps to maintain the high temperature in the converter necessary for carrying out the process. Because ofthe )rassure of the gases, the several openings of t e converter such as the joint at the pi es 1() and 21 and also the molten arging opening 24 should be tightly closed. x L

lll/*hat I claim iszl l. The herein described m thojd f tres-ting 'ores containing natural fuel-values, which consists infirst subjecting the vores to the het gases from .the furnace orconverter to which they are liebe fed, to thereby dry and-preheat-- e fusion peint of them to a point less than t cheaper in f An adequate reducing capacity :i

fuel elementsV` contained thereine' @athen delifering the preheated ores to 'a .molten bath of matte the converter under the' action of a converting .tem 'erature of the bath is maintained by the ,'Qxi ation of the ores;

" scribed.

' consists in crushing the ores,

ure less than fuel elements contained and then delivering the preheated ten bath of matte in which the 'leethem to atemperat *point of the natural Vf.' therein,

" "ores to a mol The herein descr blast, whereby the substantially 'as deibed method of treating containingl natural Juel values, which prehe ating the fusion heat is maintained -by the oxidation of thc substantially as described.

ibed method of treating ores containing natural Vfuel values, which consists inpreheating the ores toa temperature less than the fusion point of the natural fuel elements contained therein, delivering the preheated ores to a molten bath of matte of low` grade but rich in oxidizable elements and compounds, and subjecting the sameto an oxldizing blast; substantlally as de- EDWIN T. JAC KMAN, WM. A. Monnow. 

